When Shisui is Home
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Danzo tries to forcefully speed up the Kotoamatsukami's regeneration process but instead ends up with different results. Just as Sasuke finally decides to come back to Konoha because he heard Akatsuki was looking for Naruto again. What will Itachi do?


**When Shisui Is Home**

 **Summary: Danzo tries to forcefully speed up the Kotoamatsukami's regeneration process but instead ends up with different results. Just as Sasuke finally decides to come back to Konoha because he heard Akatsuki was looking for Naruto again. What will Itachi do?**

How these sort of things only happened to her, Senju Tsunade will never understand. Her three years as a Hokage had been filled with more drama and action than all four previous Hokages, and Hashirama had had to deal with Uchiha Madara, which should say quite a bit about his reign as Hokage. Yet Tsunade was sure the craziness in her life has somehow managed to out-weight even that drama queen her grandfather used to deal with.

Then again, there had been no Danzo back then. No Kakashi and his crazy teams. No Akatsuki. No nothing. There had been just lots and lots of war. At least that they understood. War was war, no matter how you looked at it.

Yet these days, not even war made any sense. She blamed it all on Danzo, as she should. It really was all his fault. He shouldn't have went and done what he did. Kinjutsu are forbidden for a reason, usually a _very_ good one. But no, Danzo had ignored that and went right ahead, wanting to play god by sizing control of time. Just how arrogant and idiotic can someone be?

And to make matters worse, he just _had_ to mess with something Uchiha.

You see, it had all started after the failed secret assassination of one Uchiha Sasuke, not a whole month ago. Sakura and Naruto had been put under the supervision of Yamato-taicho, an old ANBU comrade of Kakshi-sensei's from before he became a jonin teacher. Sai had went with them, but he had been sent by Danzo to kill Sasuke so Orochimaru wouldn't have his future vessel and wouldn't get his hands on the Sharingan. Also, Sasuke's death would have been helpful to Danzo in other fields, too, but no one but Danzo, Koharu and Homura and one more person knew about this. Still, with Sasuke's failed assassination, Orochimaru remained a serious threat to Konoha, so Danzo had taken drastic measures.

Drastic measures that involved the precious and powerful Sharingan eye he had stolen from Uchiha Shisui eight years ago.

However, the eye had not been ready for use again, despite the application of Hashirama Cells to it to speed along the regeneration process. So they had to take matters into their own hands, Danzo and his ROOT agents. He found a jutsu, a kinjutsu to be more precise, that manipulates time for certain amount of seconds. It should allow Danzo to restore the eye so it can be used again. He even had the perfect plan on how to use the powerful mind controlling genjutsu the eye possessed, the Kotoamatsukami, on Orochimaru to make him Danzo's personal asset (slave, if you want to be more precise).

They just had one bump in the road. The instructions for the jutsu were incomplete. Danzo knew his men had deciphered enough of the instructions that they could get a hold of for them to know that they had to give a few human sacrifices, but the proportions for the desired effect were missing. So Danzo had decided to play it safe and only fifteen of the prisoners that ROOT kept in hiding were killed for the sake of the jutsu. It had been too much and the resulting shock wave had almost completely destroyed their secret headquarters.

Danzo's scream of pain and rage might as well have finished the job.

For his right eye was missing, back in its rightful place in the right socket of the miraculously revived Uchiha Shisui that now stood in front of the Godaime Hokage in the interrogation room with Ibiki, Danzo, Kakashi and Yamato.

And while his unexpected appearance _was_ a problem, it was made an even bigger problem when Uchiha Sasuke had barged into her office just five minutes after both Shisui and Danzo were brought in for treatment. Besides that scream from Danzo, both were instantly knocked out by whatever jutsu they had used. But when Sasuke saw his supposed to be dead (and older; he was only fourteen instead of being twenty four or five by now) older cousin, he nearly flipped.

And if all of _that_ wasn't problematic enough, when Shisui finally woke up, he didn't want to talk to anyone or do anything with anyone who wasn't-

"Itachi." The messy haired Uchiha insisted for the fifth time in the past hour. "I will only talk with Itachi. I don't know any of you and as far as I can tell, you could just be some ninja from a different clan or organization or village who just want my Sharingan. So you either bring Itachi in here right now or I will burn this place to the ground."

"Shisui, it's me, Sasuke." The should be younger of the cousins pleaded with the fourteen year old. Sasuke had turned on Orochimaru when the man suggested to Sasuke to just forget his revenge against Itachi and Sasuke hadn't taken the news very well, the whole thing ending in an unexpected fight with Orochimaru and the Snake Sannin's death, since he had been so weakened after his fight against Naruto in the four tails version of the Kyuubi chakra cloak. Sasuke just randomly decided to return to Konoha until the next opportunity arose for him to face against Itachi, which he had suspected to be soon, seeing as there had been reports from Orochimaru's spies that Itachi and Kisame have been spotted near Konoha, no doubt after the Kyuubi sealed in Naruto again. To come back to such a situation ... It was only his Uchiha pride that was keeping him from fainting. "Talk to me."

"How can I know you are really Sasuke?" The now younger Uchiha demanded, crossing his arms and regarding them all with suspicion. "The Sasuke I know is six years old and runs along after Itachi like a duckling, usually glaring at me when I steal away his brother for the day. That Sasuke would _never_ try to convince me not to see Itachi in a situation like this. He'd be puffing up in pride that his brother was so trustworthy. So excuse me if I don't believe you."

There was a sort of logic to his words. He had woken up to mostly strangers and the few people who he recognized looked different. He could only conclude that something strange was going on here and so he drew for the one thing, one _person_ who he knew he could always rely on, the one person in this whole world that he knows no one can imitate. Because the air around Uchiha Itachi was different. It made people realize he was not ordinary, that he was different from everyone else, that he was _exceptional_ , according to Shisui's own words. Someone like Itachi just can't be mimicked and Shisui knew this perhaps even better than Sasuke or Kakashi or Yamato or even Danzo, all of whom have spent a considerable number of years observing the prodigy.

"That Sasuke died eight years ago, I'm afraid. When the Itachi you want _so much_ went and killed you before taking his sword to our family." Sasuke icily spat out in anger at Shisui, not at all caring how he will take the news of the Uchiha massacre being slapped in his face like that.

Shisui grew pale when he heard this, the thought almost incomprehensible to his mind. In his time from which he had been taken, Itachi had just joined ANBU under Hatake Kakashi in Team Ro. Shisui hadn't exactly been all that happy with Danzo dragging Itachi into the shadows of the village but Itachi seemed to fit perfectly into the darkness, being able to see perfectly well in the dark. He was possibly the only one who will not lose himself. So what this person claiming to be the younger son of the Uchiha Clan's Head Family was saying made absolutely no sense. Shisui knew Itachi better than anyone! Itachi wasn't capable of doing such a thing!

Yes, he would have more than enough skill to carry out such a feat as it must have been to slaughter a clan as big as the Uchiha. But Itachi was too soft hearted to do something like that. He was a pacifist, a person longing to end all conflict since he was six, maybe even younger. He hated killing. He would have never been able to do this.

Except ...

Shisui's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Except if the clan hadn't given him a damn good reason to. Shisui and Itachi were very much aware of the plans of a coup d'tat that have been circulating among the Uchiha ever since the Kyuubi incident and since the Uchiha have been relocated. In fact, Fugaku was hoping to use Itachi's new position in ANBU to spy on the Advisors, on the Hokage and the system in general, unaware that those same people were expecting the same from Itachi and Shisui for the Uchiha. Maybe they had gotten stuck between these two fires that were beginning to roar too closely to one another and Itachi had been forced to burn by himself to save both?

But his own lack of presence through his death made even less sense. He would have never betrayed Itachi for the younger to feel the need to kill him. He had sworn to never betrayed him! And Shisui is a man of his word. Especially to his darling younger cousin who he wished he could have protected from the cruelty of this world better. But if he _had_ been killed, why had _Itachi_ been the one to blame? Had there been a falling out between Itachi and the clan? Had _Shisui_ perhaps _asked_ Itachi to kill him? Was he perhaps that cornered?

Or had Itachi been ordered? No, he doubted that would be the case. Not for his death, at least. Itachi would never follow such an order. But what if it _had_ been ordered? Who would order it? Sandaime-sama? No, that man wanted to end all conflicts peacefully ever since the end of the Third Shinobi War and the Kyuubi attack.

"What are you thinking?" Shisui broke out of his thoughts to look at Kakashi, who was studying him like a very interesting specimen. It was to be expected. Like you can't tell Sasuke's story without mentioning Itachi, you can't properly tell Itachi's without mentioning Shisui and his role in his cousin's life. To understand the Clan Killer, you first had to understand his bond with his closest friend. The friend Sasuke insisted Itachi killed for a pair of special eyes, the Mangekyo Sharingan. Kakashi had seen them and he was honestly scared of their power, despite never faltering in front of the elder Uchiha brother. "I know that look. I've been around you long enough to recognize it. You're brooding and it's about something important."

"I don't think Itachi killed me, or the clan. At least not by his own will." The Uchiha revealed warily, studying the silver haired man right back. He knew Kakashi. This man looked and acted like him, despite this Kskashi being eight years older than the Kakashi he knew. The Kakashi he knew had always made sure Itachi was uninjured during their missions. He doubted that had changed up until whatever happened with the clan, happened. Kakashi could be trusted with his speculations. Well, with _some_ of them. His thoughts on who might be behind the hypothetical orders to massacre the Uchiha Clan ... He could discuss that with only Itachi.

Ibiki frowned at the revived Uchiha while Tsunade and Kakashi threw Sasuke warning glares not to say anything as the teenager opened his mouth to start a rant against his brother. It will do them no good with Shisui. The guy would just defend his cousin and stop talking with them at all. "And what makes you think that?"

"That's, unfortunately, classified." Shisui replied with a glare, just _daring_ Ibiki to try and get it out of him. The interrogator smirked at the challenge.

"So it's got to do with your ANBU missions." Yamato concluded with a nod of his head. "That means he won't tell anything." It was now more directed at Ibiki than anyone else. Ibiki just chuckled.

"I've cracked a few ANBU before."

Shisui let his eyes lazily turn red, ending Ibiki's amusement as soon as he remembered just _who_ he had in his interrogation room this time around. No Uchiha broke easy. In fact, this Uchiha never broke. His younger cousin ... now _he_ was terrifying, being the only person to leave this room with his _interrogators_ needing a five to gather themselves. And Shisui spent almost every day with Itachi when he was this young. Those two child ANBU weren't going to break, especially when they were keeping the other's secrets.

"And rumors say Itachi cracked _you_. Didn't know you like _chocolate_ so much, Ibiki-san." Ibiki glared at the fourteen year old but said nothing as the rest turned to shoot him incredulous looks. Ibiki had _always_ insisted on hating sweets almost as much as the Uchihas did, with the exception of two, one of whom was dead and the other was in exile.

Tsunade shook her head, realizing they were getting off topic. "Shisui, we are _not_ anyone else than who we introduced ourselves to be. Please cooperate and tell us what you think happened." It might sound like a request but it was an order wrapped up in polite words.

But Shisui paid it no heed. He turned his head away and kept silent.

"As you wish." The busty blond sighed and waved at Ibiki. "Please bring in Inoichi."

"Don't bother, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi warned, still staring at the fourteen year old he'd thought he'd never see again. "Uchihas are particularly immune to the Yamanaka's techniques. You'd just be wasting his time and chakra."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms and glaring at his cousin. He felt betrayed. He had thought Shisui would be on _his_ side after he learned what Itachi did to him in the past. Yet here he was, still protecting his _murderer_. Sasuke was not pleased with his first day back in Konoha.

"Let me talk to him outside of this interrogation room, just the two of us." The silver haired man insisted. After all, he and Shisui were somewhat friends. They'd been on a few joined missions together with their teams. "Not even Tenzou." He added, trying to get Shisui to agree although he knew Yamato won't be happy about being left out. After all, he had been friends with Shisui, too, and this had to do with Itachi, their once teammate. He would not like being kept in the dark but Kakashi will enlighten him later, after he actually finds out what is going on.

Shisui thought about it before nodding, uncrossing his arms, deactivating his eyes and standing up from his chair. Ibiki grumbled but let it be and Tsunade approved with a single nod, the look in her eyes telling Kakashi that she expected answers and that she wouldn't be waiting forever. He answered back with a nod before escorting Shisui out of the ANBU HQ. He watched as Shisui curiously took in the changes Konoha had gone through in the past eight years, wondering what Shisui thought of it all. It had to be overwhelming, learning your best friend had killed you and then your entire family except your youngest cousin and had then left the village and that _that_ was _almost a **decade** ago_. He wondered how he was coping at all. Kakashi wasn't sure his fourteen year old self would be able to take it all in stride like Shisui was. Must be those Uchiha genes.

In truth, Shisui was more focused on what could have caused the massacre than the fact that he was ten years into the future. He didn't care much about anything else at the moment. Konoha was obviously safe, well protected and had a good leader under which to flourish. Sasuke was the only family he had left, other than Itachi who was Kami only knows where but definitely not safe or happy, so Itachi was, like most of his life, the center of his concerns at the moment.

The massacre made no sense from the story Sasuke had given him. Itachi wasn't so arrogant or so cold and cruel to kill the entire clan in one night just to test his abilities, his 'container' as Sasuke had narrated. And if he really _had_ gone mad, why had he stopped at the Uchiha Clan? Yes, they were strong, but so were the Hyuuga, so was the _Hokage_. Why hadn't he spread the blood over the entirety of Konoha and further until he found someone who could best him, but had rather stopped at their clan? Hadn't anyone thought to question it?

It only made Shisui's 'being ordered' theory more and more likely. But something was missing there, too. Itachi would have possibly tried to find another way if he was just being ordered. No, something else was at stake, something so important that Itachi couldn't say no or postpone the mission.

"Will you please tell me what you're thinking now, Shisui?" The black haired Sharingan user almost flinched as he was once again broken out of his thoughts by the silver haired jonin. "It's never good when an Uchiha broods."

"Itachi and I were assigned a special mission within ANBU. To watch and spy on the Uchiha Clan and report it back to the Hokage and the Elders." The Uchiha replied, not looking at Kakashi and instead leading the way towards the most famous tea shop around. Itachi used to like the dango they sold. Not as much as the one made by the vendor in the Uchiha Compound but still his second favorite. Shisui kind of wanted to feel closer to his cousin who he knew was not even within the village. If this really _was_ the _real_ Konoha, that is. Shisui still hadn't discarded the possibility that this was all some elaborate plan made by an unknown enemy to take his eyes (he was unaware of it, but he was actually pretty much correct).

"That's not exactly new to me." Kakashi replied with a small frown. "Everyone in ANBU had spied on the Uchiha Compound at least once."

"Yes, but the Uchiha internal affairs were left a secret to the rest of the ANBU." Shisui explained with a bitter smile. "Itachi and I were the only Uchiha in the organization and we gladly signed up to spy on our own family because there were increasing whispers of a coup d'tat. Itachi and I wanted to avoid bloodshed, thinking that perhaps we could keep both sides happy if we found out what they each wanted. But Itachi was a double spy, the Uchiha using his genius to get some inside information on the workings of the system that no one can set their eyes on but an ANBU agent."

"They didn't use you?" The Chidori inventor carefully asked, feeling something like cold dread settling in his stomach. Itachi had been a spy? For both his clan and the village? The Uchiha had been planning a coup?

The other shook his head, smile still bitter but eyes incredibly cold. "Not as far as I know. Maybe they did, later, but Itachi had been practically bullied into it. Itachi is too kind a soul for ANBU but the dissatisfaction within the Uchiha had lessened as soon as news spread that their future Clan Head had been invited to such a honored and respectable position as an ANBU operative. They never forced him verbally but Itachi had never needed many words to understand. It had been clear and obvious what they wanted. Itachi accepted the ANBU, joining the shadows of Konoha."

"Yes, I agree. Itachi didn't belong in ANBU, no matter how skilled he was." Kakashi still remembered the soft spoken boy and still had difficulty separating him from his current self, a torturer of minds and bodies alike. A killer. A criminal. "Maybe that's what made him snap. The pressure. The darkness."

"I already told you that Itachi didn't do it for whatever reason he gave you people." Shisui firmly repeated himself, giving a sidelong glare at the Hatake. "Itachi is a master of genjutsu. Is it so strange to consider that he might have cast an illusion on your eyes and that you all just accepted it because it fit in perfectly in _your_ personal perception?"

''You will have to excuse my skepticism, but it is not you who has been stuck in his personal torture chamber for a second but experienced 72 hours of pure torture.''

Shisui ignored him. ''I think something went wrong and Itachi was forced into killing them all.''

''Sandaime-sama would never order such a thing.'' Kakashi immediately jumped in to defend the man that had tried his best to drag Kakashi himself out of the darkness of the ANBU. He nearly flinched when the boy who was still technically in that darkness looked at him with his blazing red eyes that seemed to have seen more than even Kakashi had and the silver haired jonin wondered just what had been happening under his own nose that he hadn't noticed these two kids' he considered friends pain and suffering.

''I never said anything about Hokage-sama being the one who ordered it.'' The grave tone of voice the kid used had them stopping near the tea and dango shop, each observing the other with intelligent eyes, measuring each other up as though they were about to start a battle.

''Then who?''

The bitter smile on Shisui's lips set alarm bells in Kakashi's head. ''Who do you think could have such a power other than the Hokage.'' It wasn't easy for Kakashi to revert his way of thinking ten years into the past, from where this Uchiha was. Back then, things were a lot more black and white, as far as he could remember. You were either a traitor or you weren't. You were either an alley or an enemy. There had never been the gray area in between that Shisui was suggesting. Had Kakashi really been that blind back then? He was hailed a genius long before either this boy or his best friend were born, yet these kids had seen the underbelly of Konoha long before Kakashi had.

Back then, there had been the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, but he had no influence on the happenings in the village. There had been, obviously, the Hokage, Sarutibo Hiruzen. The Advisors, but they couldn't make a decision like this for an ANBU operative without the Hokage's stamp of approval. And no self respecting ANBU would work behind his Hokage's back with them. That only left ...

Shisui saw as Kakashi's face turned paler than it's ordinary color and knew the ban had gotten his hint. He dared not speak the man's name here, in the open, where he knew his agents must be around each and every corner. That's why it helped when you were speaking with a genius and one that had also been in the ANBU, one who had also seen the darkness of this village.

''But why?'' Kakashi was no longer going to question the possibility of it actually being the truth. He knew Danzo. He remembered the mission Tenzou had been sent on to take Kakashi's own Sharingan eye. It would perfectly explain how Shisui was here. Shisui's eye must have been stolen by Danzo at some point and he had experimented on it for whatever reason and it had had the result of bringing this fourteen year old boy back from the dead. This boy that was now shedding light on a whole new possibility that Danzo would no doubt have wanted to stay secret and not thought upon.

''That's something we'll have to ask Itachi when we see him the next time.'' Shisui knew part of it was because of the coup d'tat, but there was something else in all of this for Danzo and it wasn't just getting rid of all of the Uchiha that he hated so much and so obviously. But Shisui was still at the very least three years too early to make a good guess as to why there was this struggle for supremacy and power over one another between Itachi and Danzo and he didn't know who was winning so far.

''The why didn't he kill Sasuke if the Uchiha were corrupt?''

That triggered a small smile from Shisui that was more sad than bitter but there was clear affection for both mentioned boys in it. ''That I can answer at least.'' He looked up to the jonin, his eyes changing back to their ordinary black color. ''It's because Itachi loves Sasuke more than anything in this world. He is perhaps Itachi's only weakness, one he could protect only by distancing it from himself.'' He looked away and started walking again, intent on getting to the tea house and getting some dango no matter what. Somewhere out there, Itachi might be eating dango at this very moment and although he couldn't be beside his cousin physically, Shisui will still be there for him in spirit, enjoying his favorite treat with him. Even if Itachi won't know about it. Besides, he was hungry himself and he liked dango, too. ''Besides, Sasuke was innocent. To enter the clan meetings you had to be a genin. One of the reasons Itachi rarely trained Sasuke. He didn't want him involved with the adults and their schemes. It would have required him to kill Sasuke, too, if he was really ordered to do it like I believe.''

''Makes sense.'' Kakashi said, fishing into his pockets for his wallet. ''Come on, we'll talk after we eat something. My treat.'' Shisui looked up and was about to thank him with his usual smile when his senses picked up on a chakra signature he'd never mistake, no matte how well it was hidden. A crow cawed overhead as Shisui suddenly sprinted towards the tea house, not ten meters away. Kakashi cursed and ran after him, not noticing three figures on the rooftops also speeding after them, nor the five down the street, more interested in seeing what had Shisui acting so strange all of the sudden.

''Will you just shut up already, un!?'' A vaguely familiar voice reached Kakashi's ears and he cursed, lifting his hitai-ate. ''Why did we have to come on this mission with you, anyway, un? Mister perfect could do it all on his own, no doubt, un.''

''Will you shut your tarp already, you whiny bitch?'' An unfamiliar voice snapped back and Kakashi cursed the stubborn Uchiha for going on further, as if not caring at all about the possible threat those two loud voices could pose. ''Jashin-sama, I can't listen to you anymore. Your fucking voice is worse than torture.''

''If you guys don't want to experience _real_ torture, then the _both of you would just shut UP_ already!" Another voice said and Kakashi clearly remembered this one from three years ago. And if he was here, then so was-

"Itachi!" Shisui all but breathed out, pushing aside the half curtains to peer inside the small tea house, only to find himself face-to-weapon with a red scythe and a strange blue sword that he could _feel_ already sucking his chakra out. He stepped back, his eyes activating on instinct and he felt something land on his shoulder but he refused to move his gaze away from the weapons. He stood stock still in the silence, the only one moving at all being the crow on his shoulder as it settled itself.

A tall, dark haired figure stood up from behind the owner of the blue sword - who was, weirdly enough, a blue man that towered over all men Shisui had ever met - eyes as red as his staring at him disbelievingly from a handsome pale face with pronounced tear-troughs. "Shisui?" Shisui couldn't help but smile. Deeper it may be but that velvety quality that his cousin's voice had always held was still very much present.

The second the smile spread across the fourteen year old's face, Uchiha Itachi yanked back Hoshigaki Kisame by his collar and all but broke Hidan's arm to get the weapons away before pushing past Deidara and coming to stand before his suddenly very much younger cousin. Shisui was surprised that despite how ungraceful these actions ought to look like, Itachi preformed them with a feline grace before he focused on the fact that Itachi was looking at him with a pained and saddened face, not a face someone who is supposed to be his killer would make. Not a face a mass murderer was supposed to make.

"Wow, Itachi! Look how much you've grown!" The short haired Uchiha breathed, going a bit on his toes to reach up and touch that matured face. Literally a couple of hours ago, the only version of this face he knew was of an eleven year old boy with traces of cuteness and childish innocence still clinging to it here and there. The face that stared back at him now, especially the eyes, were that of a person who had seen the darkness not of a single village, but of the entire world and the weight of it rested on the shoulders of this well developed but still fragile looking man. Shisui marveled how the skin of that the skin of his face was still so soft, as though the life of a shinobi did not touch him, that the cruelty of reality could not reach him. Itachi stood like a pillar of perfection, a god among mortal men, virtually unchanged by time, like a statue carved out of marble. He endured, Shisui thought bitterly. He endured like a ninja should.

"How are you back?" Was all Itachi could say, staring at a face he had known he will never see again. Not even in death will he ever meet his best friend again. Itachi had sinned too much. His sins could not be forgiven. His mistakes were far too great.

"I don't know." Shisui replied, unable to take his eyes off of his cousin's. The story they told in their depths ... Shisui desperately wanted to read it, to learn it, for Itachi to share it with him so he can take a part of the burden off of Itachi's shoulders. "But it's got something to do with my eyes and ... " He hesitated, unsure if he should continue. The tomoe of Itachi's powerful eyes spun in one angry circle before he get his emotions back under control. That was the only outward reaction he had.

" _Danzo_ ," the name was spat out like poison, the voice still somehow remaining even despite the reaction of Itachi's Sharingan. The crow on Shisui's shoulder gave a caw that Shisui could have sworn was disgusted and then he really _looked_ at the crow. He recognized it, of course he did. This crow has been around Itachi for _years_. The should be younger Uchiha was _never_ seen without it. It never left his side. And when it cocked its head to look at Shisui in the eye, the Uchiha's breath caught in his throat as he saw the single red Sharingan eye in the crow's left eye socket.

Seeing that eye in Itachi's most trusted companion made things all too clear to Shisui. That eye was his. No other eye would have been honored in such a way. It was also a way for Shisui's promise not to be broken. It was a way for Shisui to watch out for Itachi even in death. Shisui's death was mourned still. Itachi was _not_ his killer. So the fact that Danzo had had his eye meant only one thing.

Danzo was indeed behind the whole thing.

Suddenly, Shisui was yanked back by a hand on his shoulder, the sound of a thousand dying chirping birds filled their ears and the teen yelled out for Itachi, only for Kakashi's attack to be stopped by the silver haired Hidan. The Jashinist cursed up a storm as he hacked up blood from the blow but he seemed otherwise fine, which left both Shisui and Kakashi stumped since _everyone_ knew that _no one_ can survive that attack. The blue man pulled Itachi back behind himself, separating the two Uchiha cousins.

"Kakashi, what the hell!?" Shisui yelped as he, too, was pushed behind the jonin, the crow taking off from his shoulder and onto the roof. He stared as suddenly, Yamato was right there beside him while Sasuke and Naruto charged at the four Akatsuki with a Chidori and a Rasengan respectively. Knowing his partner will probably be pissed if their meal was destroyed, Kisame met them half way, expanding his Samehada so he can suck up both of the teens chakra before they could make any damage. He then pushed the boys back, sending them flying out of the small tea shop. People screamed and dived out of the way of the flying teens, running away from the scene. There _were_ a few who were more interested in watching the proceedings than fleeing for their lives.

"Channaro!" Sakura yelled, punching Kisame from the side and sending him flying through the other side of the little tea house and into another building. She soon found herself being swung through the building across the street, trashing the little store there. Sai and Deidara were flying overhead, Deidara on his clay bird and Sai on his drawn bird, drawings and clay going head to head, the remains of ink and clay falling to the ground. Hidan was fighting Kakashi, both ignoring the debris falling around and Yamato was trying to drag away the teen Shisui away from the fray. All the while, the eldest Uchiha remained where he had been, a sigh on his lips.

However, all of that changed when he saw something from the corner of his eye and the prodigy lunged, summoning a katana from a hidden small scroll and using it to impale an ANBU that had meant to sneak up on Shisui and Yamato. The two looked up when water suddenly hit them as the water clone exploded, Itachi whirling around to stop the next blow from the real deal this time. Shisui's eyes widened when he recognized the ANBU kunoichi that had fought Itachi when he was eight and he looked up to see two more making to stab Itachi from the sides. He tried to move towards them but Yamato yanked him back, both of them watching with wide eyes as Itachi was impaled from both sides ...

Only to burst into a flock of crows that then proceeded to attack them, causing them to yell in rage and pain. When the flock dispersed, the three ANBU were met with one very displeased Uchiha Itachi. Kisame suddenly stopped fighting Team 7, Hidan gave up on Kakashi and turned to watch and Deidara ignored Sai after he threw one more bomb at the black haired teenager.

"Hey, asshole! Don't ignore us!" Naruto yelled at the shark man but Kisame didn't even spare him a glance. Hidan, however, was not so docile.

"You shut up, you mother fucking dipshit! I've never seen the weasel fight before so shut the Jashin damned fucking hell up!"

The three teens were left gawking at his crude language and Itachi leveled him with a brief scathing look before returning his gaze to the ANBU. "Thirteen years ago, you couldn't defeat me." The Uchiha said in a level voice but there was a slight narrowing to his eyes that belied his supposedly impassive expression. "I suggest you leave now, while you still can."

"You've grown arrogant since you defected, little boy." The kunoichi hissed angrily, preparing her blade. Itachi arched an eyebrow at him. "We've gotten stronger since then and we know all of your little tricks. Three on one should do you in." Kisame, Hidan and Deidara snorted at the notion while the other black eyebrow joined the first, Itachi actually expressing his disbelief at such arrogance. He _was_ a member of the most feared organization filled up with only the strongest S-class criminals since he's been thirteen. He had fought a biju when he had been Shisui's current age.

"We shall see." The Uchiha replied, raising his katana just as the three lunged. Shisui had to repress the urge to jump in and help his younger cousin, except this time, it was Shisui who was younger and less experienced. Itachi had ten years on him now. He was twenty one to Shisui's fourteen. Itachi had always been perfectly capable of taking care of himself but now even his age allowed him to not have any need for Shisui's guidance and protection. And as he watched Itachi fight, a churning in Shisui's stomach occurred when he questioned the trials Itachi had had to go through to reach this level of skill and experience. He so easily fought off all three of the ANBU, avoiding and stopping their attacks, be they genjutsu, ninjutsu or taijutsu. His own shurikenjutsu had reached a whole new level and his opponents could not counter them. His movements were graceful and deadly, his blows swift and precise and even Shisui had a tough time seeing through his hand movements when he weaved signs for his jutsus.

Everyone in the streets have now stopped to watch, awe overtaking their faces as three ANBU uniformed ninja of Konohagakure were easily taken down by one black and red robed figure. This was their genius, the prodigy of the village that had been taken from them by seemingly madness. And despite him now being their supposed enemy, it was him they silently and secretly rooted for.

And it was Itachi that won, ending the fight by casually letting his eyes turn to the Mangekyo Sharingan and trapping his opponents in the Tsukuyomi. With not a sound of terror or a scream of pain, the three ROOT agents fell to the ground, Itachi coming to a stop to stand over their twitching forms.

Hidan let out a low whistle, the sudden silence deafening as it settled. Sasuke was seething on the inside and glaring death at his older brother but he knew he stood no chance as he was. Sure, he had defeated Orochimaru but the Sannin had been sick and weakened. Itachi seemed to be in peak condition, as unbeatable as ever. Sasuke wasn't so stupid as to not recognize a stronger opponent. He'll have to wait a while bit longer.

Shisui finally shrugged himself free of Yamato before running over to Itachi, still acting like an older brother despite Itachi being seven years his senior. The long haired Uchiha smiled at his best friend, nearly giving Deidara and Hidan heart attacks. Kisame just casually strode up to the two Uchiha, completely used to a smiling Itachi. It happened once in a blue moon, when he felt particularly nostalgic and would tell Kisame about his brief 'childhood', so Kisame wasn't all that stunned by it. Those who knew Itachi as only the Clan Killer ... Well. Even Sasuke was stunned, that gentle expression bringing back memories of q time when his greatest worry was whether he'd get a chance to play with his older brother before he went to bed or not.

"You seem fine," Shisui said with a relieved sigh when he saw that Itachi was uninjured. Said man's lips twitched upwards into an even bigger smile before he surpassed it.

"We need to get you back in shape," the ash haired Uchiha said, humor leaving him as he took in his friend's young body and contemplated his young mind. He was vulnerable like this. And Itachi can't stay forever to keep him safe. He was still a missing nin and hunted by many countries, not just the Leaf.

The messy haired Uchiha felt indignant at this. "Hey! I'm in top form!" He protested but quieted down when he saw that Itachi was dead serious, not even cracking a smile. "What do you actually mean by that, 'top form'?"

"We need to turn you back into the age you would be right now."

"Not the age I was when I died?" Was the question from the Shunshin master, now earning a minuscule smile from his should be younger cousin.

"But of course. You are, after all, my aniki. You cannot be younger than me." Shisui burst out laughing in delight and surprise at the statement but was far from protesting it. "But for that, we need Danzo." He extended his arm and his crow landed on it, the two having a brief stare down before Itachi nodded and the bird flew away. "It is perhaps the time for him to pay his dues."

"What are you planning? Another massacre?" Sasuke sneered, lip curling in distaste at his brother.

"How is that kid in relation to you, Itachi-san? He's not handsome like you nor does he have your patience and manners." Kisame bluntly stated, looking Sasuke up and down, finding him lacking in comparison to his partner and making it obvious. It only served to piss the youngest Uchiha off. The two ANBU Uchiha ignored them, more focused on the matter at hand.

"What are you planning?" Shisui asked curiously, wondering what his cousin had thought up. Probably something no one else would even consider.

"You know the Uchiha Clan forbidden jutsu, the Izanagi?"

"The jutsu that can bend time, space and reality to the user's will long enough for them to change a moment in which their death had occurred in order to avoid it?" Shisui felt the need to clarify, if more for their audience rather than themselves. "The one that 'costs the user his light'?"

"That's the one," Itachi confirmed with a nod, ignoring the stare he got from his cousin.

"And the fact that you could go blind in one eye doesn't concern you in the slightest?"

"I've sacrificed more than my already blind eyes for this village." The Uchiha replied calmly, as though talking about the weather. More than one person gawked at this, wondering if Itachi was delusional, crazy or both to think the massacre was any kind of sacrifice for Konoha. But then Kakashi noticed the dark look in Kisame's eyes and suddenly remembered his earlier conversation with Shisui. He ignored the looks he got from the others as he stepped closer to the conversing cousins.

"Blind?" An alarmed Shisui exclaimed, all but yanking the graceful Uchiha down to his eye level. Sasuke didn't know whether these news were supposed to displease or please him. Even he walked over to get a better look at those supposedly all-seeing eyes of his older brother. Shisui's enraged gasp told him that it was indeed true. Itachi's eyes were blind. "How?"

"Overuse of the Mangekyo Sharingan." A cough from Kisame earned the blue man a glare while the other two Akatsuki members wondered what was going on. Hidan and Deidara were most definitely confused, as were Sakura, Sai, Naruto and Yamato. And Kakashi and Sasuke, if they were honest. Even Shisui knew very little about all of this, despite having his own Mangekyo at fourteen already. "And a disease."

"Why don't you just get treated?"

"He can't," Kisame replied for his partner when Itachi stayed quiet. They all turned to look at the shark but he only had eyes for his partner. "It's incurable. He's got less than a year left."

"You're dying, un?!" The blond Akatsuki asked incredulously, looking closely at Itachi but nothing in his face suggested he was deathly ill. "Were you ever going to tell anyone, un? As if losing Sasori-dana hadn't been enough! Leader-sama is going to _flip_!"

"He knows. And yes, I _am_ dying." Itachi calmly stated, pushing Deidara's face away from his own with one finely manicured hand.

"That's no reason for you to give your fucking eyes up for some kid." Hidan sneered, moving to flick Shisui's nose, only to let out a pained groan when a pale hand shot out, snatched up his wrist and broke it like a twig with a strength masked by the slight frame.

"Touch him and it won't be your wrist that snaps the next time." They all, except Kisame, gawked at the weasel but it was still Hidan who spoke, as expected.

"What the fuck!? Aren't you blind or something!?"

"Not only does my Sharingan still function perfectly, allowing me to see chakra," the Uchiha drawled lazily. "But I have eyes in the skies." He pointed to his crow that had fluttered up overhead when Itachi had snapped his hand out, back from wherever Itachi had sent it. The crow landed on his shoulder, glaring at the zealot. "We have a special connection I established so I have eyes everywhere."

Shisui had to smile despite himself. "So even in death, I've got your back."

The smile was mirrored by Itachi, even if only briefly. "Always."

"Still doesn't mean I'll let you use Izanagi."

The master of the Tsukuyomi sighed in exasperation. "Will you please first listen to my plan before you turn it down?"

"Does it involve hurting you?"

"No."

"You going blind forever?"

"No."

"You dying?"

"It shouldn't." When Shisui went to protest, Itachi gave him a firm glare. "Listen."

"Okay." Shisui relented with a sigh, crossing his arms and staying quiet. Itachi nodded in thanks before speaking.

"It is why I said we need Danzo. He has ten Sharingan somewhere with him, implanted in a part of his body."

"How the _hell_ can you know that?" A curious and perplexed Kakashi couldn't stop himself from asking, a frown on his face. How could Itachi know?

"You remember the five missing bodies after the massacre?"

"How the _hell_ do you know about _that_?" Yamato asked as he joined the group. Itachi started looking a bit ticked at being interrupted all the time.

"I was there to threaten Danzo-"

"There are five bodies missing!?" Sasuke exclaimed, horrified and Itachi's eyebrow actually twitched and he let his eyes burn with the Mangekyo for a split second but the warning was more than enough and they all shut up.

''Why would you need to threaten Danzo-sama?'' Sai asked, oblivious to the look they were all receiving,and the looks he was the receiving from his teammates and the Akatsuki members.

''To make sure he doesn't do anything to Sasuke, of course.''

''And just how did you threaten him?'' Yamato had to ask, curious as to what could have possibly made the old man back down. There had been no reports or rumors of Danzo approaching Sasuke or of any ROOT agents attacking the boy. If anyone would know that such a thing happened, it would be Yamato.

''When you become an ANBU captain, you tend to know more about a village than even the Hokage does.'' Itachi had to smirk at this, recalling Danzo's face when he had revealed himself after the massacre when Danzo came to inspect the Uchiha Compound. Danzo may deny it to his dying breath, but Itachi terrified him. And with good reason. Itachi would kill him if he so much as touched Sasuke, but not before fulfilling his promise. ''Danzo was very well aware of the amount of delicate information I held, especially in my circumstances. I simply threatened that I would spill all of Konoha's secrets, all of his secrets, and he backed off.'' The smirk was wiped off in a second and replaced with a glare rarely really seen on Itachi's face. ''Until recently.'' Sai stiffened when that glare was cast in his direction for but a second before Itachi returned to the others. ''May I explain my plan now?''

''Not yet.'' Sasuke growled out, still not sure how he felt about the whole situation. He had overheard Shisui's conversation with Kakashi and some of the things the Uchiha had said had rattled him to his very bones. Itachi had said he had killed the clan to measure his capacity. He had said he didn't kill Sasuke because he was so weak. Back then, Sasuke hadn't even wondered why no other child was spared, only him. There had been at least another ten kids his age back then, a lot of younger kids and a few kids up to the age of twelve. There was no way all of them had been a part of the meetings that the clan held. Sasuke knew you had to be a genin to enter those meetings, a full fledged ninja, even if only a beginner. Itachi had started attending those since he was seven. Sasuke never got the chance. But if what Shisui was saying was the truth, that Itachi had been ordered and that he hadn't killed Sasuke because his love for him wouldn't allow it ... ''Why did you kill them? Why did you kill our clan?''

Itachi stiffened at the question and silence reigned over the street. No one dared breathe for fear of another massacre taking place. Shisui wanted to beat them all to the ground for still viewing his cousin like such a monster. But he didn't. He waited with bathed breath, just like everyone else, to hear the response of the Clan Killer.

''That's classified.''

Sasuke closed his eyes in pain, the reality of Shisui's words hitting him like a bullet train as he realized that Shisui's theory was correct. It was obvious Itachi will never say it out loud. Despite the threat he had just admitted to making, Itachi would not betray Konoha. And that proved Shisui's theory true. Uchiha Itachi had been used.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, a hand reaching out to the fifteen and a half year old. It froze when his eyes flashed open, black with a red arabesque flower pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan, grief and rage surging through them. Hidan, Deidara and Kisame wisely took a step back, Shisui unconsciously came to stand in front of Itachi upon seeing the near crazed look in Sasuke's eyes and all the civilians shivered when he looked at them, as though assigning blame to _them_ for the decisions and orders the brass had made eight years ago. His hand reached for his katana and Kakashi, Yamato, Sai and Naruto stiffened, tense, readying for a fight that would no doubt come, all of them sensing the hatred and the chakra rising, his blood lust almost palpable.

"Sasuke, enough." Like a knife cutting through butter, Itachi's voice invaded Sasuke's senses, freezing his hand in place just as pale fingers brushed the hilt of his Kusanagi. Mangekyo Sharingan eyes met their elder equal, a shiver running down Sasuke's spine as that three bladed windmill gave a swift warning spin before settling. The hand over the sword hesitated before slowly falling down to his side. "I've made my choice. It's done. Let it go."

"Choice!? How is an order a _choice_!?" The enraged little avenger screamed at the top of his lungs. "How can an order to kill your clan, your _family_ be a _choice_!? How can they make a child of _thirteen_ make such a choice!?"

"I've not been a child since the age of four." Itachi stated coolly, never averting his eyes from his brother. "And I _was_ given a choice. Kill my clan, avoid war and spare _your_ life, become a criminal and take the secret of the coup with me to my grave... or stand by our clan, watch a war engulf all of us, a second Kyuubi attack, this time _really_ orchestrated by the Uchiha, watch both my clansmen and my comrades and countless innocents all dying before my eyes." Rage flashed through those powerful eyes and the windmill pattern of the tomoe gave a lazy spin, one belying Itachi's true anger, the one so rarely felt ... Shisui, Kakashi, Kisame and Sasuke could not repress their shivers. "The choice was mine. Why? People might think it was selflessness. It's the complete opposite. I did it because I selfishly hate conflict. I am a ninja, I chased all my achievements, all my powers just so I would be strong enough to make others fear me, fear fighting." A bitter laugh escaped the long haired Uchiha. "How foolish I was. ANBU taught me that. I took one look at Danzo and saw what I would have become had that thought continued festering."

"You changed upon entering ANBU?" Kakashi asked uncertainly.

"Danzo makes sacrifices of other people for the power and wealth of Konoha. He is feared and hated, even by his own 'heartless' and 'emotionless' pawns. That is not what I wanted. I wanted to end all conflict. Killing my family ... That night haunts me, but I would still make the same decision. While no single life is more precious than another, the ratio of death like this has been more than halved. And I'm about to bring it to zero."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, completely bewildered by his brother. Thankfully, in his confusion his Mangekyo had reverted to the normal Sharingan.

"It's my plan. The Izanagi. We can use it." His audiance all went to protest but Itachi just raised a hand to stop them all. He was sick of being sidetracked. It was time to get down to business. "The Izanagi will be perfectly capable of changing that single moment in the past, when I took up the sword and came to the Uchiha Compound. But in order to not completely change history, which would be extremely dangerous, I will need to be careful."

"Haven't you suffered enough!?" The should be youngest protested and even Shisui had to agree. "I'm not letting you lose your eyes!"

Itachi glared at his little brother, silently communicating for him to shut up. Sasuke did so, rather reluctantly. But he did. "That's why I said we need Danzo. He has ten Sharingan eyes with him, implanted in a fake limb made of Senju Hashirama's Cells, cultivated by Orochimaru. We either use Tsukusomi or Kotoamatsukami on him to make him use at least _one_ to rewrite time as we see fit."

"How would you even know about the arm though, un?"

Itachi couldn't suppress it. He smirked, recalling an even that had happened when he was but fourteen himself. "Let's just say that when Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, he was rather in a hurry and never got the chance to collect his stuff." He shrugged, smirk still in place. He was rather pleased with himself, Kakashi was the first to realize. "Over five years of plans, incomplete jutsus, developing projects and under the table deals were left in the Akatsuki's hands. Leader-sama deemed it to be the safest and best option if I were the one to go over them all, to see if he was selling out the Akatsuki to anyone. I found out Danzo and he had a standing agreement that Orochimaru will make Danzo this limb in exchange for Danzo letting Orochimaru to sneak into the village during those Chuunin exams two and a half years ago."

"Didn't that break the deal?" Kakashi asked, remembering that the deal was for Sasuke to remain safe and untouched by Danzo and his influences. Itachi shook his head.

"Sadly, no. That can't be considered a violation of our deal. Danzo only let Orochimaru in. He didn't hand Sasuke over to him. But he _did_ break the deal when he sent an _assassin_ after my little brother not all that long ago." The Uchiha snarled the words, surprising all those who knew him. Itachi does not snarl. Period. "This calls for retribution."

"Is that why you asked for me and Hidan for this mission, un?" Deidara asked, things finally falling into place in his head.

"The more destructive the distraction, the less guards Danzo will be able to spare himself. I wanted Kakuzu here, too, but the carnage of the Zombi Combo would level Konoha to the ground."

"WHAT! I AIN'T NO FUCKING DISTRACTION YOU FUCKING WEASEL!"

Itachi slowly turned his head to face Hidan. "We can do this the easy way or the Uchiha way." The silver haired Jashinist wisely kept his mouth shut. ''Thought so.''

"Don't you think bringing in the Akatsuki into Konoha is a bit ... rash?" Naruto dared to ask, remembering just how destructive Deidara and that redhead, Sasori, had been to Suna.

"Do you know the saying, 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned', Naruto-kun?" Itachi answered with a question of his own. "Well, Hell hath not met a pissed off Uchiha."

"Especially a pissed off Uchiha _Itachi_." Shisui said with a grin, earning an affectionate scuff to the head from said Uchiha.

"So let me get this straight," Kakashi interrupted the cousin bonding time seriously. "Your plan is to revive a clan that was readying a coup d'tat by using Danzo's stolen Sharingan eyes to activate this Izanagi doujutsu through controlling him with your own doujutsu, all the while two maniacs are wrecking chaos in the village to distract them?" A silver colored eyebrow shot up in challenge and incredulity. "You can't be serious, right? That will destroy Konoha! If not those two idiots," he said, pointing to the blond and silver haired Akatsuki members.

"Hey! (Un!)"

"Then by the Uchiha themselves and you'll be their first target!"

Itachi snorted. "That's why I said we will have to be careful how we rewrite time, Kakashi-san. First of all, Shisui will be restored to the age he should be right now. Then, I will use another Izanagi to revive the clan and another to rewrite the things I showed Chichiue with my Sharingan before he let me end it."

"Otou-san didn't fight?" Sasuke asked and even Shisui was surprised by this.

"That doesn't sound like Fugaku-san."

"He sent a Kage Bunshin to find out my intentions and he accepted his fate. Chichiue and Okaa-san never fought back nor did they run. They sat and waited. And Chichiue ... forgave me." Those dangerous eyes closed in order for Itachi to control his emotions. The fact that his father had still been proud of him, despite what he was about to do ... That wound was still raw.

"Nii-san," Itachi's head snapped up when Sasuke called him that, but the teen didn't seem to notice. "Can this plan of yours really work?"

"What about the rest of the clan? Fugaku-san might agree, but the rest won't." The messy haired fourteen year old pointed out.

"Yes, this plan _can_ work. For the others to agree, we will need Kotoamatsukami. And with Danzo gone and a different Hokage, maybe some of the original unrest will vanish."

"Something tells me that Kotoamatsukami hadn't worked before." The wielder of said jutsu observed, crossing his arms. Itachi gave him a faint smirk.

"There are now three eyes that can preform that technique. The last time, you used only one." The crow on Itachi's shoulder cawed in agreement, its red eye glinting in the sunlight.

"And if that doesn't work?" Yamato challenged, thinking of the chaos that could ensue should the Uchiha decide to wage war on the village. They might become even more violent after they learned how Itachi had been cornered. He was their heir and their prodigy, no matter how much the animosity had grown after he 'killed' Shisui. And that still remains a mystery. They only knew that Danzo was involved, nothing else. And Itachi didn't seem very keen on sharing.

"Once upon a time, Shisui here used to refer to me as exceptional all the time." The smirk was back and it was sharper than the Kusanagi. It sent shivers down many a spines in the crowd who have yet to disperse. "Perhaps I will show them how much I have come to live up to those words."

"Itachi?"

"You will see, should the situation call for it." And didn't that just sound ominous. Many a people exchanged uneasy glances but they didn't know what to do or how to react. What do you say to someone like Itachi when they say something like that?

"What about the Akatsuki, un?" Deidara finally spoke up, surprised no one else had noticed this little flaw in Itachi's plans. "Leader-sama won't be happy with your defaction. In fact, we should kill you right here, right now. If I were any more reckless or less smart, I would attempt it, un. But I'm not an idiot, un."

"Nagato-kun knows and agreed to some of my plans." At the arched eyebrows he received, Itachi snorted. "I am one of the oldest members of the organization and am actually the unofficial second in command. Nagato-kun knows very well under which circumstances I've arrived to the Akatsuki's base, much to 'Madara's' displeasure."

"Wait, you know he's Madara, too?" Kisame asked, incredulous.

"Who's Madara?" Hidan asked. Itachi ignored him, turning to his partner.

"Uchiha Madara has been dead for at the very least thirty years. The man calling himself Tobi is a different Uchiha. One I will need to have a talk with, it would seem." A sigh. "Kisame, make sure Hidan doesn't sacrifice anyone and that Deidara doesn't blow the village up. This is supposed to be a distraction, not an invasion."

"I'm not comfortable with this plan." Kakashi informed him gravely just as a villager walked over to them.

"Um, excuse me?" The ninja all turned to look at the civilian. He was sweating profoundly and avoided eye contact with all the Sharingan users. "Um, if you need a distraction, we can do it, Uchiha-sama."

"'Sama'?" Itachi repeated with confusion. It wasn't the first time he had been addressed with 'sama', but still. It had been years since anyone other than Kisame had shown him such respect.

"We could start a riot." A woman suggested from the crowd.

"Or a fight!" A big burly man yelled, getting cheers from his equally bulky companions.

"Or we could just ask Tsunade-baa-chan to invite this Danzo guy into her office and just ambush him there." Naruto surprised them all by being the voice of reason and everyone paused to stare at the blond Jinchuuriki. "What?"

Itachi shook his head. "I have kind of wanted to make Danzo panic a little but I guess that's just my sadistic missing nin side talking. Sorry if I came off as a bit vindictive." He turned towards the crowd and gave them a small bow, startling the man standing in front of him with the humbleness of the action. "I am sorry for endangering you all."

"I-it's fine." The man stuttered out before escaping back into the crowd. Now with more people at his back, he nodded at the currently eldest Uchiha. "You have our support, Uchiha-sama. End this injustice."

Itachi would be lying if he said he wasn't touched and so he smiled at the man and at the crowd that all shouted their own support and approval of the man's words. The smile only caused more cheering and the three Akatsuki that had come with Itachi were a bit uncomfortable with all the positive attention they seemed to be getting.

"We better go to Tsunade-sama," Kakashi told his fellow ninja with a tired sigh. "She'll want to know what is going on and I have a feeling a lot of yelling will ensue."

Quite a few people groaned at this truth.

00000

Kakashi had been quite right about the Godaime's yelling. They were pretty sure the entire damn village had heard her and it didn't help that Hidan had joined in, challenging her volume with his immortal lungs. Tsunade still ended up winning.

And the whole story behind the Uchiha massacre came into the light, stunning all those Itachi told. Itachi had to hold Shisui back a few times before he could go off to kill Danzo, only to switch to holding back Sasuke while he handed off one or the other to Kisame or Kakashi and Yamato. Naruto had turned deathly pale at the prospect of the Kyuubi being released and Sakura had gone mute a long time ago. Hidan and Deidara finally got some respect for the man known as Akatsuki no Itachi and made sure to listen to every word he said _very carefully_. Kakashi and Yamato could only close their eyes in regret of not realizing just how much their once upon a time teammate had suffered. Tsunade listened to it all in a stoney silence that didn't match her disgust and horror and sadness and anger all mixed together as the story progressed.

And then came the long five minutes in which everyone had to come to terms with the fact that _it wasn't just a story_. The darkness in which Itachi has been treading in for the past ten years has finally been revealed and Itachi had finally shed a light on it so everyone could not only see it but see _in_ it. And Itachi was their leading light, the only one who can see in this darkness. Shisui wished he could join him there, in the lead as Itachi guided them through those horrifying shadows that were terrified of the Tsukuyomi master, but he will need years of new experience to catch up to Itachi. Even after Itachi changes their reality ... he will still be needed to guide them all. Shisui couldn't help even after he was brought to the age he should be now.

And it _was_ agreed upon that it will be Itachi who will control the Izanagi. He was the only one who _really_ knew the _whole_ story. No one felt easy about it, the fact that one man will have the power to rewrite their whole lives and that they were supposed to just ... let him. But if anything Itachi's story had taught them, it was that there was no one better to wield such a power and not abuse it. Itachi had seen all sides of his story, had looked at it through the eyes of both the Uchiha and the village. He knew how to make this right ... And he wanted peace.

Tsunade gladly helped them set up the ambush, telling Danzo she had some special secret information about a traitor she feared she could not tell anyone else about. Danzo bought it hook, line and sinker and both Shisui and Sasuke were _very_ happy to roughen him up while Hidan and Kisame took down the few secret guards from his ROOT that he had tried to sneak in. Imagine his surprise when he was brought before a calmly sitting Uchiha Itachi while said genius was sipping his tea with Tsunade. The arched eyebrow had him snarling but he paled upon seeing those dangerous eyes turn to the red of the Mangekyo Sharingan. And it was too late for him to look away. In that instant, he was already dragged into the Tsukuyomi and left at Itachi's mercy - or lack of, when Danzo was concern.

Shisui looked at the frozen form of the old man then turned his eyes to see Itachi's own eyes shedding bloody tears. He panicked and rushed towards Itachi but the long haired Uchiha shook his head. Kisame placed a hand on his messy head in a pat before placing his hand on the fourteen year old's shoulder, drawing both him and Sasuke away from Itachi. The genius walked over to Danzo and ripped off the bandage on his arm, having noticed an abnormality in the chakra there. As he had expected, there was the strange, pale arm that didn't quite belong to the rest of Danzo's body, especially since it had ten Sharingan eyes that Itachi forced to open with his own Sharingan still hypnotizing Danzo.

"Is everyone ready?" Shisui shakily asked, afraid this will put too much strain on Itachi.

"Will this really erase the past eight years?" Tsunade questioned at the last moment, the last ounce of resistance left as everyone else stared at the Uchiha about to change history.

"It won't," he informed her, startling her. It would seem that not everyone had grasped quite how the Izanagi works. "It will _rewrite_ them. But the alterations must maintain the rest of our time line if we don't want to all simply cease existing altogether. Meaning, the events that were not impacted by the original outcome must remain so as well after we do this, too. Things _must_ remain the same, Tsunade-sama."

"Then how will things remain the same if the Uchiha will all be alive?" She demanded, _needing_ to understand what she was getting herself into. They can't go into this blindly. Too much could depend on it.

"Simple. I will rewrite time so that I never let Shisui die, rather that the distress of seeing him jumping off that cliff would be enough for my Mangekyo Sharingan to be triggered. I am sure you've heard of the Susanoo before, Tsunade-sama?" The blond woman froze upon hearing that specific doujutsu's name and Itachi took it as confirmation. "My Susanoo has the Totsuka Sword, the one weapon that can seal anything and everything away. I will seal Shisui, and everyone else, away with it on the night of the massacre. I will put up a genjutsu to make everyone believe the Uchiha have been murdered. They will remain sealed away inside of the gourd and my Tsukuyomi until there is a change in power. The Godaime finds out Shisui's eye had been stolen by Danzo and she acts, the commotion causing her to question everything Danzo had ever been involved with, which leads you to the Uchiha massacre investigation. You send out people to find me and I tell you the truth before releasing the Uchiha from the genjutsu. We will take it in baby steps from there."

The room was left gaping at the nonchalance he was showing while he told them his - truly ingenious - plan. Their expressions showed that they had not even considered such a course of action. They had thought a lot more would need to be changed.

"How many eyes will that use up?"

They all looked to Shisui at his question before turning their attention back to the one about to change their lives forever.

"One will be needed to turn Shisui twenty four and a half years old. Another will be needed to change my conversation with Chichiue. Another will be needed to change how Shisui was 'summoned' here. One more will be needed to change the events of his death. One will be used to change the massacre. One more will destroy this arm, so we will need to be swift."

"One will prevent you from going blind and one will erase your illness." Sasuke insisted with a determined glare shot towards his brother. He was not yielding on this matter.

"And one will make sure your crow still has my eye, after everything is done." Shisui also had a few demands, it would seem. He, too, was not budging on the matter. Itachi had depended on that eye for _years_. Shisui was not taking that away.

"That leaves one more." Kakashi pointed out, all of them frowning at no eye in particular. "What will you use that one for?"

"The potential is great, but using it would fulfill no purpose." Itachi instantly shot the idea down.

"But think of all the possibilities!" Sakura argued, thinking of how all of this pain could have been avoided. Actually, the only way all of this could have been avoided was if extremely drastic and immoral measures were to be taken. _Selfish_ measures.

"If we were to change any one thing without changing a the chain of events that lead up to it or that resulted from it, a dis-balance would occur. A dis-balance great enough to make things _ten times worse_."

"But what if-"

"All events must stay the same, their _impact_ must remain the same. A single change not made carefully could result in massive destruction and countless deaths." Naruto was throughly chastised from the reprimand and stayed quiet.

"Then why take the chance just with the Uchiha, huh?" Sai challenged, having things from his past he would very much like to change, too. "Why does only your clan get a fresh start? Why not everyone else?"

"Because it is this _village_ that had caused the rift in the first place between its people and the Uchiha." Itachi snapped, finally fighting back as fiercely as his clan name was known for. "Because it is people like _you_ who have pushed a loyal clan into a corner. It is _you_ who have decided to brand them traitors without any proof and then when they _did_ become what you've always made them out to be, you had _one of their own_ kill them, not even showing them the respect to face them, you cowards. Because the Uchiha have _suffered enough_. Because _I_ have given enough for your ungrateful asses. So please _do excuse me_ for wanting to right the wrongs done knowingly, unknowingly, willingly and unwillingly upon my clan with one of _our_ forbidden jutsu! If you want to make a change, then _make it yourself_. Do not expect _others_ to do your work for you. Not if you're a real shinobi with even an ounce of pride and honor. And have you forgotten, ROOT agent, that my clan has protected these lands _centuries_ before you were even a figment in your parents' genes? _Before_ the Senju-Uchiha wars started? Have you? Or did you not know? Did you ever even wonder?"

Silence met Itachi's rant, everyone a bit more shaken up than they thought they ought to be. Itachi's words rang of truth. And Shisui _knew_ that if anyone knows anything about history, of their clan, of the village, of a _shinobi_ , it was Itachi. In this conversation, they were in so over their heads that they'd be drowning right now had they been in water.

"No? I didn't think so. You people, _everyone_ is so wrapped up in their own lives that they forget to look at the bigger picture. No, they don't _want_ to look at it. They are perfectly happy to live in their own little world, believing every lie and illusion presented to them." The Uchiha went on, digging even more into them, uncaring how they might not be ready for such a harsh reality. He had lived there his whole life. Shisui could see it in his eyes as they spun and spun like wind was truly blowing on those tomoe created windmills in his irises. "People are content to live in these illusions they themselves create and call it reality. But is it _really_ reality? Or is it just what we want to see? Look _beyond_ yourself for once and you will _see_ , perhaps for the first time, how your actions impact those around you. You are _not_ the center of the universe. You're not even a speck of dust, a fleeting flash in time, yet your actions have a greater impact that a dozen of Deidara's C3s. We are so _small_ in the great scheme of things and yet we think ourselves special. But we are neither the first nor the last people to walk this earth. We have no right for such selfishness. We will leave this world to generations upon generations of people that will come after our own time. Besides fruitlessly pursuing a power we can make only our own, we ought to find ways to make this accursed world _better_ for the new lives that will come. That is why I chose _peace_ over war. That's why I was able to do everything I did. So no one else will ever have to go through what I did, would never need to _do_ what I had to.''

Needless to say, no one could utter a single word. The wisdom Itachi was often praised for had just made its appearance known and they were left speechless. After all, this man was only a handful of years older than them all, a handful of years younger than Kakashi and Yamato and Kisame. Yet he spoke with a wisdom and confidence and experience of a man twice as old as Tsunade was. In the face of his words that struck so close to home, none of them could say anything, realizing just how right he was, how selfish they were.

''What can you say about _your_ goals?'' But Itachi, it would seem, wasn't done yet. ''Can you say they are for the good of everyone else? Can you say they will help those who will come after you or that they honor those who have came before you? Do you even know your ancestors names and deeds? Their mistakes and failures as well as their victories and achievements? Have you learned anything from them? Or are you just walking the same path they had, not looking at the guiding posts they have left behind to make your journeys easier? Are you continuing their work for the future generations? Or are you truly so self absorbed that you can't think as far ahead as even tomorrow?''

The quiet was deafening as Itachi slowly calmed down, taking ragged breaths that made them all wince. Itachi's condition was becoming painfully obvious. And it only accented the truth behind his words. For who was better to say these words than a man willing to slowly die from the inside to keep a secret? For his clan's sake, for his village's sake and for his little brother's sake.

''If you've never considered any of these things before,'' Itachi said after he regained his breathing. ''How can you ask for a better future or a changed past? You wouldn't know what to do with such a power. A power like that which the Izanagi provides the user with ... it has a counter measure. The Izanami. It forces a person to look deep within themselves and face all they have ever done, their true self, all their dreams and nightmares, their fears and wishes, their actions and inactions, their decisions and indecisions ... Only those who can _see_ , _accept_ all of that and _forgive_ themselves can become _truly_ strong.''

''And only a person like that should make these decisions.'' Shisui finished for his cousin, eyes understanding and pained. This was his bright little cousin that had been forced to walk in the darkness for so long that he should have forgotten what light was like. Yet he had actually become a beacon of light in that darkness and now lead others towards a better future, a brighter world. And he could see this in Itachi's eyes, unseeing as they should be. Itachi might have gone blind, but he still threaded only on the right path. He had not lost himself. He had _found_ himself, better than anyone had ever found themselves. His steps were sure and steady, his head held high and although he had made mistakes and had many regrets, he did not turn away from them. He had faced them and faced them only a daily basis even to this day, it would seem.

In the end, he had won a fight everyone had been trying to win since the beginning of time. Facing his demons, his sins and all the things he'd done, Itachi had not lost himself; he had fought and won, setting himself free from the influences of his past. He had been able to continue on towards the future. The shackles of his past - the shackles that will _never_ release any of us - do not drag him down, do not slow him down and do not stop him. Itachi had conquered himself.

And that made him the only person who was suitable to cast this jutsu.

''Do it.'' Shisui told his cousin with utter confidence in Itachi and the long haired Uchiha nodded once, before closing his eyes. When he opened them again, they met Danzo's and a wave of power was exchanged, so strong everyone felt it like a gust of strong wind. Danzo stiffened again and with a struggle - the old man seemed to be fighting the orders he had been given, as was expected what eith his hatred of the Uchiha - nine out of ten of those stolen Sharingan eyes faded and closed, almost sealing themselves in the arm they resided on.

And then there was a dizzying amount of power pouring out of both the closed eyes and out of Itachi. Everyone felt it. The whole _village_ felt the shift in the world as time, space and reality were bent and changed to the whims of a single person. Wisps of power swept through the whole village, concentrating at the Uchiha Compound and its cemetery, seeping into the ground and changing the reality of such a place. The people who had been there throughout the whole thing, the explanation of Itachi's plan were the only ones who were aware of the change in their own memory as what Itachi had said would happen, did. The last 48 hours changed almost completely. Danzo groaned in pain as his artificial arm disappeared, Itachi still carefully keeping him in a genjutsu so he wouldn't open the remaining eye and as such try to revert everything back. The sting in Itachi's eyes receded as he felt the Izanagi heal him, clearing up his blindness and chasing away his illness. And then he felt it. Felt all the people of the Uchiha Clan, weighting down his Susanoo's gourd, felt everything changing: the past, the present and even the future. Itachi's eyes turned unseeing to the outside world and his ears deaf to the panicked cries of his brother, cousin and partner as he swayed under the crashing of a future that should have been.

When the blood and screams and tears and laughter of that unfated future passed, Itachi was slammed back into the reality of now, of this present, only to find himself held up by Kisame and a twenty four year old Shisui, Sasuke staring at him with concern and fading traces of wonder, the rest mute from the show of power. When he looked at them, he saw the fading memories of the past events. The last 48 hours were being erased, as were some key differences being made in a select few minds. Genjutsu did its job well. But if they had no idea how he had just changed reality, if his talk of the Izanagi was erased ... What were they staring at him for like that?

"So the time has finally come, Itachi." Said Uchiha's head snapped up when he heard that familiar voice, the voice of his father, still firm and stern. Tears streamed down his face unbidden when he saw the proud look in those dark eyes and they only grew heavier when his mother smiled lovingly at him.

"Otou-san! Okaa-san!" Sasuke cried in delight, tears falling down his own face, too. But he was still reluctant to leave his brother's side.

"Shisui!" Said young man's mother and father cried out, running up to them and hugging their son. Mikoto gave into the urge as well, running over to her sons and hugging them tight around their wide shoulders. She cried into Sasuke's hair, kissing his head and face while her hand held on to Itachi. Fugaku walked over as well, placing a hand on his elder son's head, running his fingers through the silky locks there.

"You did well, Itachi," the words were said in a gentle voice the wrung out a sob from the prodigy. Fugaku sank to his knees before his son, looking both him and Sasuke over, taking in how much they have grown.

"Taichou! Get away from that traitor!" One of their clansmen dared to exclaim but quivered under the Sharingan glares of father, mother, brother and cousin and the glover of one shark like, six foot something partner.

"Don't you _dare_ call Itachi that!" Shisui hissed, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan, further frightening the man and quite a few of their other clansmen. "He gave up _so much_ just to make sure we stay as respected as we were despite our indiscretions. You ought to be _grateful_ to him, not _resentful_!"

"It's you who had pushed him to do it in the first place." Sasuke hissed, activating his own Mangekyo Sharingan. "Your own pride and greed and _arrogance_. He should have killed you all, yet he only sealed you away."

"I won't stand by and let you insult Itachi-san." Kisame growled out, glaring at the Uchiha. "He deserves better than that. Better than _you_ lot for his family."

"If you have any business with my son," now even Fugaku had activated his own Mangekyo Sharingan. "You'll have to go through me first."

"There's no need for animosity." Itachi intervened, feeling the tension in the room. Perhaps better than anyone. He could _feel_ that this was a crucial moment in time. What happens here will decide the future events, _their_ future and fate. If there is to be reconcilement for the Uchiha with Konoha, now was the time for it to happen. "We all share the same blood and the same name."

" _You_ are _not_ an Uchiha!" Inabi hissed at the genius and Itachi wasn't going to let _that_ go. He was still pissy after everything that had happened in just a few hours, even if no one else remembered it anymore. He was _not_ going to lay down. He was at fault, yes. He had killed them, yes. But that had changed. He had stopped them from going through with the coup d'tat and he had kept up the honor of the Uchiha by destroying his own. He had given up enough of himself for the clan for him to defend himself.

So he glared, activating his own Mangekyo Sharingan, calling upon his power. The air shifted around him, his hair twirling around as he pulled out his plan B, his trump card. Red chakra poured around him, growing, solidifying, taking shape and form until a giant chakra apparition of an ancient looking warrior enveloped the Uchiha genius. It was only now that Itachi realized they were not in the Hokage's office. They weren't even in the Hokage Tower anymore! Instead, they were on the Hokage Mountain, Itachi's back to the village he had sacrificed so much for, his relatives facing it and him as his red Susanoo rose and grew and grew, towering over them, the size of a biju. Itachi himself was surprised by its size. He had never been able to make it that big before. Perhaps it was the lack of his illness. And his eyes didn't sting at all! He will have to investigate that later.

For now, he had some unruly relatives to chasitise.

"Would you like to _repeat_ that?" He asked in the coldest, deadliest tone of voice he'd ever managed, showing that he won't be playing around anymore. He eon't lie down and let them walk all over him. When he was thirteen and smaller than them, he had still defeated them. Now, he had _years_ of battle experience on them. They might have lived longer and been ninjas longer, but the missions Itachi took for the ANBU, for the _Akatsuki_ , were of such a nature that they could count as _ten_ S-ranked missions. After all, _how many ordinary people_ can go head to head with a _Jinchuuriki_ and their _biju_? Only the ones from Akatsuki have managed it so far, if you don't include the Yondaime and the Shodaime Hokages.

"S-Susanoo?!" Came the stuttered exclamation of fear that echoed among the Uchiha like a wave. This was a technique only Madara had been known for using it, for mastering it. No one had seen this chakra apparition for almost a century.

"Still feel like fighting?" Itachi challenged, actually ready for a fight and a good one. No one dared so much as look at him. Perhaps it was for the best that way. After all, he felt particularly sadistic in that moment and if anyone had dared meet his eyes, he probably would have put them through a year of hell. When, as expected, no one dared answer, Itachi lifted his head a little and snorted at them. "Didn't think so." He turned on his heel and marched right over the edge, his Susanoo easily floating down and landing beneath the Hokage Mountain, Itachi heading off towards the Uchiha Compound to dispel the genjutsu that his new past self had set up according to the Izanagi changes.

No one dared to try and stop him. Even his family could only stare after him in stunned silence. It was to be expected. After all, this was the first time they saw him acting so aggressively and snapping at someone. Well, maybe the second time. After all, he had beaten up those three that had dared suggest Itachi had been the one to kill Shisui. Still, it was quite a shock to see.

Deidara was the first to recover and he let out a low whistle. "I'm glad he's on _our_ side, un."

"Is he?" Hidan mumbled to himself, actually being somewhat worried for his life.

Fugaku ignored them, coming to stand in front of where Danzo was still forced to kneel between the two Akatsuki, only just beginning to recover from Itachi's Tsukuyomi's effects. His one eye fluttered open and he released a groan of pain, feeling a vicious headache take a hold of his skull. However, what greeted his old eyes was far worse than anything he could have imagined.

''Finally awake, I see.'' Fugaku hummed as he crouched down to be more eye level with Danzo, expression cool and void of any emotion.

''You!? How are you alive?!'' The old man yelled, looking around and glowering when he saw that _every_ Uchiha was alive. His plan had been foiled. By the very person he had envisioned to end it so perfectly. ''So the boy was too soft and too weak after all.''

''No,'' Fugaku calmly replied, taking a hold of Danzo's neck and forcing him to look upwards in order to properly meet Fugaku's ed gaze. ''He proved himself to be stronger than either of us. He had stopped a war all on his own. You ought to be _grateful_. After seeing what he would do for your pathetic little village, how far he would go, the Uchiha Clan won't go through with the coup d'tat. Why should we? Tsunade-sama, as well as the other only alive Sannin, have always been distrustful of you. And now that we know it had been _you_ who had been planting seeds of doubt against our clan, knowing that you are going to be gotten rid of and thrown into jail is, for the moment, good enough.'' Finally, a flicker of emotion appeared on the brunet Uchiha's face as he stared Danzo down. ''An Uchiha still won, Danzo. _Itachi_ won.'''

''The Uchiha will never have the power they want.'' Danzo spat out, trying to wriggle free of Fugaku's hold. ''No Uchiha will ever be allowed into the heart of the village affairs.''

''You've obviously never paid enough attention to Itachi, _Danzo-sama_ ,'' Shisui appeared behind his uncle, sneering down his nose at the bound old man. ''He's been in the heart of the village's affairs for so long that he's become a fixture no one notices anymore.''

''It's over, Danzo.'' Tsunade intoned as she came to stand before him, arms crossed over her impressive chest. ''You lost. We know the truth now. The _whole_ truth. You will be judged for your crimes and you will pay for them accordingly. Your reign of terror stops now.''

''All I've ever done has been for the sake of Konoha.'' The man retorted, glaring at the blond woman.

''The you shouldn't have tried to annihilate its oldest protector.'' Kakashi responded, hauling Danzo to his feet. ''Let's go. Into the dungeon with you.''

''I'll go check if Itachi-san has cooled off. You guys should go inform Leader-sama of this turn of events.'' Kisame offered before running of after his partner, leaving the village affairs to the villagers. Deidara and Hidan hung around for a few more awkward minutes before doing as the older man had said and leaving Konoha on one of Deidara's clay birds.

00000

''Word just got from your Akatsuki friends.'' Shisui said a few days later as he walked up to his younger cousin at the banks of the Nakano River, the long haired Uchiha sitting peacefully by the water, dipping his delicate feet in to cool off from the hot day they'd been having. ''Kisame-kun says that your leader will be arriving for peace negotiations and alliances in a few days. That Pein guy expects to talk with you, first. Just thought you ought to know.''

Itachi nodded, scooping up a little of the clear water in one hand, just holding it in his palm before he let it gracefully slide back into the river. ''To be expected. They _are_ coming to these peace talks because of me.''

''The Godaime also wants to see you regarding some serious business. Kakashi says she even has a proposal for you. I think she might try to make you Rokudaime Hokage.'' Shunshin no Shisui said brightly, coming to sit besides his cousin on the banks of the river.''I thought it best not to tell anyone before you go and talk with her. For all we know, she might just try to reinstate you into the ANBU.''

''I would be a dreadful Hokage.'' Itachi replied with a chuckle. ''All Sasuke would have to do is give me the puppy dog eyes or say 'Please, Nii-san', and I'd cave and let him do whatever it is he wants.''

''I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit, Itachi.'' Shisui said with all the seriousness in the world. ''Everything you've done for this village and for peace, out of love and loyalty, no matter how hard or horrible ... If anyone deserves to be Hokage and lead Konoha into a better age, then it's you.''

Itachi looked at his friend and cousin strangely, arching an eyebrow. ''I was kidding. If I was unable to resist Sasuke's little whims, how do you think I'd be able to Tsukuyomi him and lie to him as easily as I did in order for all my plans to work?''

Shisui shrugged and stayed quiet, a rather new thing for the usually cheerful Uchiha. Itachi returned to watching the river flow by, a frown on his face.

There have been a lot of changes in Konoha in the past few days, what with all the weirdness following the revival of the Uchiha clan. The Izanagi had made a big gap in the way of thinking of Konoha's people, one that Itachi couldn't have fixed on his own even if he had wanted to. And he had been the only one working on the fixing in the first place, so the task would have been harder than had his entire clan been working on it. The people were unsure what to think of the whole ordeal. On one hand, Itachi was a supposed traitor, having defected after killing his own family. On the other hand. Tsunade had made a story for him as a excuse that left the Uchiha guiltless. Something about Danzo sowing seeds of hate towards the Uchiha out of spite and his own personal gain, to the point that he had blackmailed and manipulated Itachi into committing the 'massacre', but that Itachi could not go through with it and then went the part of the story Itachi himself had come p with and changed with the Izanagi. The villagers believed it and the Uchiha were reinstated as the leaders of the Konoha Police Force once again, although they had all been given a few months to gather themselves after all the years they have missed while sealed away for their own protection.

In truth, Tsunade had felt that they deserved at least a few months of house arrest for daring to think about turning against Konoha. They had had no complaints and they continued on with life as normal. They had been permitted to attend Danzo's trial and the old man had been sentenced for life in prison, something more than the Uchiha thought to be too light a punishment. But Itachi had agreed for the sake of not starting another conflict and so Danzo had been locked away while Itachi, Yamato and Sai (who was doing it to keep his own freedom) helped the Hokae to take down ROOT once and for all. And let's not forget the talks of an alliance with the Akatsuki. Deidara and Hidan had returned to base but Kisame still stayed in Konoha and Itachi still had his own ring, so he was still technically a member. Itachi hoped they could come to a reasonable agreement. He had come to rather like the organization. At least he knew what to expect of them.

Of course, no one remembered what had happened before Itachi suggested the use of Izanagi. The word did not even exist in any of their brains. It was ... painful, at times, to look at the faces of his family and recall all the blood. The original reality still existed within Itachi's mind, as well as the reality that was now. His friend's eyeless form jumping off of that cliff ... Itachi's eye stung and he cursed mentally for activating his Mangekyo Sharingan so aggressively. He had discovered that his eyes hurt only when he activated his Mangekyo like this. He looked over to his friend, who was staring off into space.

Shisui's eyes had been restored as well. Even though Itachi's crow still possesses the eye Shisui had given him, the Izanagi had easily given the older Uchiha another eye. Even if there had been other people to activate the Izanagi, Itachi had been perfect to do it for the simple reason that he had seen the most jutsu, especially the weird ones like the ones Orochimaru makes. He could twist the all-powerful illusions of the Izanagi so well that the butterfly effect can never happen, can never cause a ripple in time great enough to cause damage elsewhere. _That_ is actually what makes Itachi so _exceptional_. His ability to make a change without actually changing anything. He subtly works, leaving his mark and letting others be impacted by it while they never realized they were being impacted by it. This illusion he's created now is so great that no one seems to realize just how different the world was. The original world had been 289 souls lighter. Those lives were still here, now. And no one was the wiser. Only Itachi and his crow were aware of the change, and his crow only because it had a connection with Itachi.

The prodigy sighed. Everything had went so smoothly, do according to plan that it felt too good to be true. The clan hadn't put up much of a fuss, despite a Senju once again being the Hokage. Perhaps Tsunade had already told them of her plans for Itachi, perhaps they were just glad that Danzo could no longer fuck with their lives. Or perhaps they are just content to once again have the proper respect from the villagers as their protectors. This even has had many educational messages that almost everyone received.

Sasuke learned that he can't act so impulsively, that he must look beyond words and actions and _see_ into the very heart of the matter. His Mangekyo Sharingan ought to help him achieve that, if he doesn't overuse it and end up going blind. One of the reasons Itachi refuses to teach _any_ of his family members the Susanoo.

Deidara and Hidan learned that there is always a lot more to a person than what meets the eye.

Kakashi learned to judge a person by both their current self and their past self, not just one or the other. Shisui had helped him greatly in realizing this.

His clan had learned that there is never a good enough reason to call to arms, that if _one_ (or 197) person can't come up with a peaceful solution, _someone else can_.

The villagers learned to make their judgment on clans and individuals by themselves instead of blindly accepting anything someone from the brass says.

Itachi himself learned that at times he should rely on others. Be it a simple or a complicated situation. He had also learned to never leave Kisame, Sasuke, Kakashi and Shisui alone (We will _not_ go into the specifics of _that_ horrendous tragedy called a friendly lunch).

Shisui ... Itachi didn't know about him.

Shisui himself thought he learned the most important lesson of all. He learned that his younger cousin was awesome and could do anything. He wasn't sure where this great sense of admiration for Itachi growth was coming from - it almost felt like at one point, he had been _looking up to Itachi_ , as strange as that sounded - but he knew it had to do something with the 'massacre' and why Itachi would at times become this quiet. He looked serene, but Shisui knew him well enough to recognize the troubled thoughts racing through his head.

And could you blame him? He was the only person who still saw the original version of this world. The version where he had killed his entire clan in a single night, where his best friend was dead and where he was dying of an incurable illness, almost as blind as a bat. Just remembering that world, where Kisame often had to carry him during their travels when he had an extremely bad fit, where he _knew_ he will never see his mother's smile or his father's proud eyes, where he knew Shisui's laugh will only haunt his memory and that Sasuke's voice will never say 'Nii-san' again, had him bringing his knees to his chest, burring half of his face onto them and doing his best to regulate his breathing so no one would realize how close to sobbing he actually was.

It was still all too raw and he had no one he could talk to about all of this with. He was alone.

A gentle hand taking hold of his ponytail and flipping it a little had Itachi's head slowly rising, endless onyx eyes meeting a pair of just as black ones. "You're really something, Itachi." The short haired Uchiha said with a gentle look in his eyes and an affectionate smile on his lips. Yet Itachi could see it was also sad and bitter and he worried for the reasons behind it. "What you've done, no one else could even begin _imagining_ it. Yet you've done it. You really _are_ exceptional."

"Shisui?" The startled Uchiha asked, wondering what was going on. He knew he couldn't hide anything from his cousin, it had always been like that. When he was training alone in the woods during the classes at the Academy his clone went to, when his friend died and he awoke his Sharingan, when he realized the traitorous behavior of their clan ... Any time Shisui left for a mission and Itachi was left alone, if something were to happen to upset or excite him, his cousin would be the first to know when Shisui got home. Itachi also used to grow anxious when the older boy went on longer missions. Sure, Shisui himself was a genius and an excellent shinobi, but wasn't it normal for a 'little brother' to worry about their Aniki? When they had been spying on the Uchiha because of their plans for a coup d'tat, Sarutobi had been unable to stop all of their other missions for the sake of that one. It would have been far too suspicious so Shisui had still went to other missions. The clan had at one point grown suspicious of them and Itachi had been on such high alert due to the tension filling the big Uchiha Compound that he hadn't slept for days. Only when Shisui came home did Itachi collapse, his friend carrying him back to his house and room so the weasel could finally get some rest.

Itachi was the calmest when Shisui is home. He usually has the most fun at such times, too. Shisui could make him relax. He could get him to open up like no one else could. It had been like that from day one, what with Shisui's caring personality and honest smile. Kisame had needed a whole year to wring out the first smile from Itachi and several more months before the Uchiha had been relaxed enough to laugh. It had taken another two years before Itachi ever told Kisame any of his secrets. Only then could Kisame read him like a book. A very _complicated_ one, but still ... Itachi could never hide anything from Shisui.

Yet this was the one thing he had thought that he could. This was the one thing he _knew_ he would never be able to talk with anyone about. Even Shisui. Even Kisame. So how did Shisui seem to know?

As if reading his thoughts, Shisui's smile became a bit more mischievous. "I have no idea what you did, but that's how I feel. I am a genjutsu master myself, Itachi, but whatever you did ... it is extraordinary. I wish you would tell me, I wish I could understand it ... but chances are, it's for the best that no one knows. Still, if whatever you did ever troubles you," the hand twirling his ponytail came up to his shoulder and a serious and determined look settled on the older man's face. "You don't need to tell me what you did and how you did it, but you _do_ know you can always talk to me, right? Because I will definitely _never_ betray you." With one last beaming smile, Shisui stood up, bending down to ruffled the stunned and greatly touched and humbled Itachi's hair. "And just so you know, Itachi?" Said Uchiha tilted his head upwards to meet his friend's gaze. "You'd make an _awesome_ Hokage and don't you let anyone ever tell you otherwise."

With a wave and a smile, the messy haired Uchiha, true to his nickname of Shunshin no Shisui, disappeared in a flicker, leaving the prodigy all alone by the Nakano river, stunned and silent. The gawking of his crow drew him out of his stupor and a beautifully content and haply smile spread across hos pale lips.

Yes. When Shisui is home, Itachi is at peace.

And peace has only just begun.

OWARI


End file.
